1964 Pontiac GTO - Buried Treasure

A low-mileage, original-condition muscle car is a welcome addition to any car show. People gather around, note the car's originality, and express their surprise at its preservation over such a long time. Drama heightens when the admirers learn that the car is still with its original owner. If the second owner is explaining his recent acquisition, he garners similar respect for the find.
But many of these original, unrestored museum pieces seem to miss the most sought-after versions by a year or two. Or they sport an undesirable color, the lowest-horsepower motor, or some kind of ridiculous trim. In fact, you almost wonder if those original unrestored cars survived because nobody wanted to drive them!

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Rarely is the low-mileage, unrestored, original car exactly the machine that muscle car dreams are made of. Sometimes, though, the dream comes true, as with this '64 Tri-power GTO, which was recently located after being stored tightly away by its original owner in a small private building in South Holland, Illinois.

Its story is fairly straightforward. In 1964, an 18-year-old young man from a well-to-do family in Chicago purchased this Marimba Red GTO. It is powered by the top-of-the-heap 389ci, 348hp Tri-power engine, with a proper Muncie four-speed transmission sending power to the 3.90 Saf-T-Track rear. It gets better: Metallic lined brakes, the rare transistorized ignition, manual steering and brakes (for frequent dragstrip outings), black buckets, optional tach and gauges, and console round out the car.
Essentially, this GTO has all the optional equipment that most guys would have killed for back in those Beatlemania days. This is the car I would have ordered (had the Plymouth dealer burned down).
The original owner fell in love with the car, and for the next 46 years he stored it in climate-controlled buildings, washed and waxed it regularly, and drove it only on nice days for short stints around the south side of Chicago. When he passed away in 2010, the GTO had just 8,000 miles on its odometer.

His passing resulted in a phone call to Jim Mattison of Pontiac Historic Services to establish its pedigree. After finding out about the car's unrestored status, Jim called Joe DeMesy, a well known collector of original, unrestored cars. Joe called Mike Ardito at Tri Power Automotive in Libertyville, Illinois, to check out this intriguing Pontiac prior to making a deal with the original owner's family. Mike found it to be all it was claimed to be and more. The low-mileage time capsule was immediately purchased and brought back to Tri Power Automotive for a thorough cleaning.
A seasoned Survivor Show judge, Mike was discovering and perfecting unrestored cars way before anyone was paying attention to them. His business is booming not only with restorations and high-performance builds, but also because his shop is known as one of the best in the country for preserving and beautifying original cars.

The car received a cleanup, some paintless dent repair magic from Mike, and undercarriage detailing that would rival any of the best shops in the country. The finished product is a gold mine of information for the restorer interested in documenting construction and assembly methods used in the Pontiac factories. Parts usage, stampings, overspray patterns, and assembly line practices can be gained from close inspection of this car.

"This car is cool because it came with all the right equipment that people like," says Mike. "Many times you find these original, unrestored cars, and they are amazing, but they usually don't have all the right options. Joe's car has everything that a muscle car guy would want in an early GTO."